The Shadow Angel
by Godfather21000
Summary: The starting adventure of a young guardian with his Shadow Fox, into the wide wide world that is Planet Zi. All OCs. Will love any comments you have to give


At the age of seventeen, it has been three years since Dominic's escape from the bandits and his gaining a new role as guardian of the village. His experience as a zoid pilot has grown since his first time in Schatten-Engel, his Shadow Fox, which he took from the bandits that held him as a captive for over two years. Many things have passed during that time; one should always look forward to the future, but never forget the past. Today, in the warm desert sun, Dominic is working on the underbelly of his Fox, attaching a Rapid Fire Ion Cannon. It isn't new, but he has spent some time on it, hoping that it will fire correctly. ~Dominic, it does not feel right. Are you sure this thing will fire and not explode on me?~

"Ye of little faith Schatten, if worse comes to worse, I will eject it before it does anything." The fox gives a soft whimper as Dominic came out from below it. He in turn gives the Fox a gentle pat against it cheek; "We have been through a lot, you and I, Schatten. We have given blood, oil, sweat, and energy to defend this town of ours from bandits. If this item works, it will make our jobs a bit easier." The Fox nods slowly and Dominic slowly forms a smile on his lips, feeling like Schatten is smiling in return.

Dominic and Schatten-Engel start to walk off towards a large flat part of the desert where they go for target practice. As they arrive, they notice the little kids from the town had set up targets for them to shoot at. They both give a small and warm chuckle as they study the new stone targets that were put up. A few of the targets looked like Gustavs while others either looked like Warsharks and there was even a Sinker. As they begin to aim the cannon that hangs under the Fox's chest, something odd happens. When he pulls the trigger, he notices something with a shiny surface that stood where he is aiming.

What it was, was that a Helcat gotten in the way while in his Stealth mode. The poor zoid did not have a chance. Schatten brought the two of them closer and they notice something they have not wish to see again. It is an image of the bandits that had taken him five years ago. There is another image but it did not raise any flags in Dominic's head, but he would keep it in mind. It was an image of a scimitar, what was it there for? Was it that this group of bandits have been taken over?

"Hey Schatten, you can drop the cannon, if was supposed to be a repeater, yet it only fired one shot, we could scrap it for some small cash."  
~With pleasure Dominic~, says the Fox with a spot of happiness in his voice. The weapon begins to whine a little as it slowly ejects off of the Fox, it happens when the part is old and used.  
~Dominic, a small group of Rev Raptors have appeared on the West side of the village!~  
"What? Lets go!"  
Dominic left the junk part where it is as he scrambles into the cockpit, turns Schatten hard towards the west and puts the petal to the metal, making the zoid burst into a sprint towards the attackers.

When they arrived, what they saw was one massive chaotic area that was the market district. There were a few people dead lying in the street, the Rev Raptors on top of their bodies. This made both the zoid and its pilot go into shock at first, and then angry. "They were innocent people, what did they do to deserve this…this…this," These are the thoughts that ran through Dominic's mind. Both zoid and pilot howl and they charge the Rev Raptors, catching the first one by surprise. The Fox drives his teeth deep into its neck, making the head almost pop off. As he bit down harder, Dominic also activates the 30mm Omni-Directional Vulcan Machine Gun and begins firing at the two close by raptors. This takes their legs out as well partially damaging the body and the blades break apart.

There were five of those evil beasts, and now there only two remain. These Rev Raptors are different then the others. They have a full body black paint job and the blades go out further than normal Rev Raptors. Something you would normally see on a Blade Liger. Dominic and Schatten do not care, they begin charging at them. The Vulcan activates again and fires at the neck of one of the two black raptors as Schatten leaps into the air and Dominic yelling out "STRIKE LASER CLAW!" as it cuts through the cockpit and down the neck.

Lucky for the pilots was that they ejected before the attack hit them, unlucky though is that when they try to run off, Schatten turns around to aim the 270mm Electromagnetic Net Gun at the group and captures the men and gives them a good shock before they pass out. What the villagers did to them afterward, Dominic did not know or really cared. Dominic starts feeling weak for letting this happen to the village. He also fells worn out because when one fights angry, one weakens faster when the adrenaline leaves the system.

An elder of the village goes over to Dominic and hands him a message. This made Dominic smile as he climbs back into the cockpit. It is a message from the teenagers he helped free from the bandits way back when. They have become good pilots over the past five years. They know that he needs rest and a chance to explore and get stronger, get richer to get better parts and to find happiness.

"Elder, please tell the pilots that are coming to take over the defense of this town, they will understand." The old man smiles warmly and nods "/Good Luck Dominic and Schatten-Engel/". These are the last words they hear before they were out of the city, out looking for work, friends, comrades and parts. To become a better Guardian, to give his all to those who gave them a home when he had none, to those he love.

The darkness of the night hides the movements of the zoid as it runs through the thick forest, dodging in between the trees. The only that can be seen or heard would be the slight whine of the leg joints as it dodges the trees and limbs and the low orange glow of the cockpit. A low howl escapes the zoid's mouth as it runs. What is making this zoid run like this, is it running away from something, or towards it?

At the exit of the forest, the zoid appears. The zoid is a Shadow Fox that goes by the name Schatten-Engel. The cockpit opens and standing there is his pilot, Dominic Blackmore. In front of them stands a small town that is known to most pilots as Zoid Heaven, a safe haven for pilots to repair, resupply, and to rest up on their journey. The cockpit closes and the Fox starts to walk towards the town. What brings him out here is the event that happens yesterday. The attack of his town the day before depleted his ammunition and they need to resupply. When they arrive into the town, they head over towards the weapon, ammo, armor, and repair facility. It is stationed inside a large hangar to support more than a couple of Zoids at a time.

When they arrive inside the hangar, they notice a few Zoids that they have never seen before; there is a Raynos that is lifting off the runway. There is an old Zaber Fang getting a leg reattach to its body. There is even an Elephander in there. There were others that Dominic could not name. The cockpit opens up and there is an excited face upon Dominic, like a child in a candy shop as he stands in the cockpit.

"There are so many Zoids in here, Schatten! I have not seen so many before in one place and some many different types!" The fox gives a soft grunt of disgust and Dominic gives a warm chuckle. "However, you are the zoid for me, Schatten" as he gently pat the dashboard with a kind smile.

Dominic jumps down towards the shop floor and walks with Schatten-Engel to an open space and calls over one of the workers and yells, "Hey, I need Thirty Millimeter rounds for my Shadow Fox." The shop floor worker gives a nod as he controls a crane, making the crane go over to a large stack of containers. Each container contains different types of ammunition and the crane lowers to pick up the Thirty Millimeter and brings it back over towards the Fox.

When he lowers the container near the two of them, Dominic climbs onto the back of the Fox and opens the magazine for the Thirty Millimeter Omni-Directional Vulcan Machine Gun and slides the start of the belt into the magazine. When the magazine is full, Dominic gives a couple loud taps against the container to let them know he was done with it. He then orders for a Two-Hundred Millimeter Electromagnetic Net round for the net gun that is housed in the tail. Dominic slides down the tail of the Fox and opens it up so the workers can slide the round into the launch tube.

Dominic heads towards one of the worker and pays him for the ammunition and smiles as he climbs up into the cockpit. Schatten closes it for him, ~It is good to be restocked again, I do not favor being in a fight without any ammo. Wouldn't you agree Dominic?~ "You bet I would agree Schatten." They both chuckle softly as they leave the hangar and towards the local watering hole. When they arrive, Dominic jumps down and inside, Schatten is parked next to the building; the cockpit locks and opens only for Dominic unless told otherwise.

When Dominic goes through the doors, he heads over for the bar; "A vodka please." The Bartender gives a nod as he pours a glass, in the corner, he can hear some deadbeats try to slowly force one of the bar maids to go with them. Dominic gives a slight sigh as he rubs his temples while the bartender places the glass in front of him.

"Why can't deadbeats take a no for an answer?" the bartender mutters. Dominic gets up and goes over to the three deadbeats. "I think the little lady does not want to go with you, ya deadbeats."

The largest of the three turns towards Dominic; "\What the hell did you call us, punk?\" he says as he gets up. Dominic does not give the man a chance to get ready and clocks the thug square in the chin, his body laying out cold on the ground. The next one rushes him and tries to punch Dominic, misses and Dominic trips his legs and slams the second thug's face into the floorboard.

The third one pulls out a knife and takes a stance. When he starts to get closer towards the knife wielder, the thug starts to charge. He did not take two steps before the bar maid grabs the bottle behind the thug and brings it down on the deadbeat and knocks him out.

Dominic slowly goes over to the young bar maid and says in a warm and kind voice, "Are you alright Miss? Did those stupid deadbeats hurt you?" The young woman was blushing slightly and shook her head slowly. _Thank you Sir_, was what she says before kissing Dominic's cheek softly and runs off towards the bar. He lifts his hand towards the spot where she kissed it and blushes softly as well. It was the first time any woman has done that to him. He smiles softly and heads back to the bar. "Can I take that bottle to go?" "The bottle is yours, free of charge. Thank you for dealing with those low lives."

Dominic smiles as he takes the bottle in his hand. "It was no problem at all" he says as he turns away and literally punts the knocked out deadbeats into the street and hog ties them in the street. He leans down to the leader and whispers, "Try that again, and I would not be as giving as I was tonight" The thug leader groans as he lies there while Dominic walks off towards the general store to grabs some food and supplies.

After Dominic pays the store manager for his supplies, he goes outside and head towards Schatten and packs up. As Schatten gets up and heads past the watering hole, the bar maid from before runs out in front of the two, waving her hands at them. Dominic opens the cockpit and jumps down to her. "It is not very smart to jump in front of a moving zoid like that Miss."

_Please take me with you and the name is not Miss, its Jessica._ She gives a cute smirk and Dominic gives a small sigh, knowing that trying to convince her otherwise would be futile. "Why do you want to come with me, Miss Jessica?" I_ want to explore the world and experience life as a zoid pilot!_ She said with a gleeful tone. Dominic lets out another silent sigh. "And may I ask why did you choose me to go with?" _Because you saved my life today_, she says in a soft voice with a flush appearing on her cheeks. Dominic lowers his head in defeat and then smiles warmly.

"Alright then, you win Miss Jessica." She jumps up and down and hugs Dominic, which surprised him. Schatten slowly turns his head and chuckles at the two teenagers. "Shut up Schatten!" shouts Dominic as he punches the Fox's leg, and then regrets it as he shakes his hand, feeling the pain of punching hard metal.

Dominic, with Jessica on his tail and Schatten-Engel following closely behind the two, lets out a soft sigh. When he pulls the remaining amount of money out of his pocket, there was not much to show for it. He lowers his head as they head back to the hangar where they resupplied earlier. He heads over to the head of the shop, "Hey, I am in a bit of a bind here. I am on a bit of a budget here. I need a Gustav to use as a transport."

'I got one of those in the back of the shop, give me say 800 and it's yours.' Dominic starts to count the money he has and sighs hard. The amount he has left is barely over 800. He keeps the rest and gives the shop head, "Here, its 800 like you asked" 'Its all yours, my friend' and with that, the group heads towards the Gustav and Schatten gets onto the platform and Dominic starts to strap the zoid down under a large tarp. After he checks that the straps will hold, Dominic and Jessica go into the cockpit of the Gustav, waiting for the hatch to close before they head out, out into the open land that is Planet Zi.

The small group continues across the long and barren plain of the scorching desert inside the cooled cabin of the Gustav. Dominic gently starts to tap against the controls, while Jessica being silent in the back of the cabin. During the time across the desert, Dominic had been telling Jessica about his past as well as how he obtained his Shadow Fox. He smiles softly as he remembers this old song that was famous in his village. It was sung by a famous transporter, though for the life of him, he can not recall her name. "I am a, transporter, of the wasteland…" was all he could say before he started to smile warmly and made him relax.

As they reached the new town, Jessica begins to stir. _Where are we, Dominic?_ "We are….Ummm…." He was actually had no idea where he was. Dominic pulls the map on the main screen and for some odd reason; it was not on the map. "I actually have no idea where we are, Jessica," said Dominic as he brought the Gustav into the small town.

As they arrive at the entrance, there is a military outpost blocking access into the village. Dominic brings the Gustav to a halt and opens the cabin's hatch and climbs out. He heads towards the guard and ask, "What is with the blockade here, Sir?"

**There have been many raids on this small village. They have called on our services to defend them. It is horrible of what has been done to these people.** As the soldier explains this, he points out to the destruction done to the buildings. Both Jessica and Dominic went into shock for a little while. _'"Such destruction…"'_ The soldier turns back towards the small group. **They have announced that they will be coming again later tomorrow with all of their might to destroy this place. They believe that under this village is a large military grade zoid weaponry cache. So far they destroyed most of the place looking for an entrance.**

"Is there actually anything here worth stealing?" The soldier shook his head. "Sir, I want to offer my services as a zoid pilot." This took the soldier off guard, **Are you serious? You must be…** is all the soldier could say before he notices the look on Dominic's face. The face like that of a harden war veteran would have. Why his face looks like this is that the destruction here reminds him of home, and the fear of a possibility of this same carnage hitting his home. The soldier nods and opens the gate. "Jessica, pilot the Gustav behind us," says Dominic. Jessica nods as she adjusts herself in the pilot's seat of the Gustav and slowly starts it up and follows right behind Dominic and the soldier.

When Dominic and the soldier arrive at the Command Tent, Jessica is waiting outside, inside the Gustav cockpit. Dominic follows the soldier in and watches the soldier saluting the commanding officer of the group stationed here. **Commander, this young zoid pilot here wishes to help us out with tomorrow's defense against those evil raiders.**

_Is that so, Private?_ Says the commander as he turns his attention from the soldier towards Dominic. _What makes you want to help us, Pilot?_ Dominic says in a soft tone. "This town reminds me of home and I would defend my home to the very end, Sir." The commander starts to smile lightly. _And what is it that you bring to this fight?_ Dominic smiles in turn, "I have a Shadow Fox fully resupplied and a spare pilot in the Gustav. I even offer my knowledge of some strategy." The information of that a Shadow Fox was here catches the commander's interest even more as he heads towards the opening. He opens the tent's flap and sees the zoid resting on the Gustav.

_My, I think we may get along just wonderfully_, says the commander towards Dominic. Dominic smiles as he heads towards the table in the center and examining the soldier's plans for tomorrows attack. "Is this where they will be heading through that corridor to get to us here?" asks Dominic, having an idea forming inside his head. Both the commander and the private from before head towards the table, _Yes it is, it's the only other way in here other than the way you came here. Why do you ask?_ "I have an idea, but I need to know what you soldiers have here as in Zoids?"

**We have a decent amount of Command Wolves, Four Shield Ligers, and I do believe we have two spare Gun Snipers.** When Dominic hears this, all he could do was grin. "Perfect." Dominic starts to point towards two small very high ledges along the corridor, "We can position the two Gun Snipers up on these ledges to give them a height advantage as well as distance. Set up a Shield Liger next to each of the Gun Snipers to give them a decent defense against incoming fire." The soldiers look over this idea of his with wide grins._ I am already liking this idea of yours_, the commander states. _What is your name, Pilot?_

"The name is Dominic Blackmore, Sir" _The name is Commander Herman the Fourth. It will be a pleasure to have you fight with us, Dominic._ The commander extends out his hand towards Dominic and Dominic in turn extends his and clasping the commander's and giving it a firm shake. "I won't let you down Commander Herman, Sir." _Glad to hear it son._

Dominic slowly walks out of the Command Tent and heads towards the Gustav, going to check on Jessica. As he peers inside, he notices Jessica is taking a small nap and a small, soft smile appears on his lips. Back when he was at his home village, from time to time, he would find some little child enjoying a nap inside Schatten's cockpit. The children of the village always called him big brother after his escape from the bandits of way back when. In his head, he can hear Schatten speaking,

~It reminds you of home, doesn't it?~ Dominic nods in reply, "When you see that, it makes you feel that there is peace in this world and nothing will ruin it." The sounds of the neck moving on the Fox can be heard as it nods in reply. "Please watch over her while I look over the soldiers and supplies they have here, alright?" ~She will be safe, Dominic. You can trust me.~ Dominic smiles warmly towards the Fox, "Thank you, old friend," and heads towards the hangar where they house the Zoids along with the parts and weaponry.

As Dominic enters the Hangar, he is somewhat surprised at the Zoids and the attachments on them. "My, the weaponry attached to these Zoids look like they are about to go into a full fledged war." He goes over towards the Shield Ligers and have these large blasters attached on top of them as well as its standard side missile pods. His attention catches the glimpse of the two Gun Snipers. They are both equipped with Weasel Units, chain guns and everything. "Hopefully I can teach Jessica how to fire the Sniper Rifle in the tail later tonight before the big show down tomorrow." The Command Wolves have roll cages around the cockpit along with quad cannons on the back of the torso.

"My my my, you can take down a decent size group with these." What really catches Dominic's attention is this large container near the rear of the hangar. He catches up to a soldier who is doing inventory, "Sir, could you tell me what is in that container in the back?"

**That? That is a Buster Cannon. We can not use it though due to not having the converting part to attach to other Zoids. They are mainly used for Shadow Foxes though.** Learning this, it made Dominic excited and a wide grin grows on his lips. "Sir, I have a Shadow Fox. If you let me use it for tomorrow's battle, it would help majorly." This made the soldier turn towards Dominic, **Really now? That is great to hear. The more power we have, the better. We will attach it to your zoid later on tonight, Sir.** Dominic nods as he heads out of the Hangar.

~Dominic, watch out.~ This made Dominic turn towards Schatten, and as he does, he gets knocked down by Jessica, trying to jump onto his back, trying to surprise him. _How did you know that I was there?_ Dominic begins to chuckle, "I will tell you another time. Now, care to learn how to pilot a Zoid?" Jessica's eyes begin to widen, _YES! I would love too!_ she says with an excited sound in her voice. "Well then, your first Zoid will be a Gun Sniper," Dominic says as he points towards the two Zoids. This makes Jessica go silent for a little bit as she went into a bit of shock.

Dominic smiles and calls out to the Soldier from earlier, "Make sure the cannon is on when I get back here, I am taking my spare pilot here on a test run of your Gun Snipers." **Yes Sir, ammo is not a worry so have fun training.** Dominic nods and leads Jessica towards the Gun Sniper and starts to show her the basic controls. He also points out how to convert the Zoid into its sniper form. Before she could flip the switch, Dominic stops her, "Wait till we go over to the range, alright?" Jessica lifts her head up to Dominic and smiles warmly as she nods, _Alright then._ Dominic smiles as he heads into the other Gun Sniper and closes the cockpit. "Schatten won't like this, but he will understand."

Dominic brings the Gun Sniper towards Schatten and opens the cockpit. "Schatten, I am using this zoid to show Jessica how to use it for tomorrow. I hope this does not bother you." Schatten gives a warm chuckle, ~I understand and no, it does not bother me. You are trying to help Jessica become a better zoid pilot. Go on already.~ Dominic smiles and sits down and before he closes the hatch, he remembers something and turns back to the Shadow Fox.

"I just remembered, they have an actual Buster Cannon here! Also, do you know the best part? They are going to attach it onto you for tomorrow's battle!" There is a bit of an excitement in Schatten's reply, ~Really now? If I could show you how much excited, they may think I was defected!~ This makes the two both laugh and a wide smile on Dominic's face appears. "They should be attaching it onto you soon, and tell them to attach the second part to your chest. It should keep you in balance."

The Fox gives a small nod and stands up and the tarp rips and falls off. Schatten shakes his body so that he can loosen his joints and lifts in his legs from being pinned down by the tarp. ~Ahh, it feels good to move these legs of mine,~ chuckles Schatten. This makes Dominic laugh and smile, "I promise to give you a good run when we get back." Schatten gives a nod and Dominic smiles to him while he closes the Gun Sniper's hatch and ran towards the ledge that the Gun Snipers are going to be used for tomorrow. Jessica is following Dominic until they hit the split with Dominic taking the right path and Jessica taking the left up to their individual perches.

Dominic flips on the two way radio between the two Gun Snipers, "Can you hear me over there, Jessica?" _Yeah I can hear you. You sure that I can do this?_ Jessica asks. "I know you will. First of, turn the zoid around so the tail of the zoid is aiming towards the corridor and then hit the sniper mode switch." _Yes Sir! _Jessica chuckles as she turns the Gun Sniper around and aims towards the open corridor. When she flips the switch, the cockpit chair flattens out and then flips her over. The talons of the zoid locks down itself to the ground.

The tail starts to straighten out, the barrel protruding out of the tip. Jessica's seat moves so that she is in position, the stock of the sniper rifle resting on her shoulder with her eyes looking through the scope. _Wow! This is amazing, Dominic! _Dominic smiles as the process repeats itself for Dominic's zoid. "Now then, it is time for some target practice. Follow the red dot." Dominic turns on the laser sight for the rifle and aims for a small hole against one side of the corridor, "Find the Birdie, Jessica," and starts to chuckle softly. A little after half a minute, she finds it and squeezes off a round.

Dominic zooms the scope in to whether or not it was a confirm hit. He spots the hole and smiles, "That is a confirmed hit Jessica, nice shot!" Jessica shouts for joy, _Whoohoo!_ Dominic smiles once more, the sound of laughter calms him down, it helps him prepare for what is going to happen for tomorrow. As he looks outwards through the corridor, Dominic notices a small surprise that can be used for the battle coming up. "Jessica, I have a special assignment for tomorrow that I need to tell your sniper partner for tomorrow." Jessica became all ears to Dominic. "At the middle of each side of the corridor, there are two large rock slides waiting to happen. The only things that are keeping this at bay are these two small rocks here and here," Dominic says as he uses the rifle laser to point to the two rocks.

_I can see them Dominic. If I and my partner take them out, this will block the main path?_ asks Jessica, hoping it will prevent the fighting that will most likely happen tomorrow. "If it does, then it would be wonderful. However, as you recall, this battle tomorrow will consist of everything they have, and we have no idea what that is. Hopefully, this will at least block the majority of the enemies we have to face. If it does not, all you have to do is aim and fire," Dominic says softly, tomorrow will be his first major fight. People may be lost, and if they have to be lost, then it will be those who will ruin the peace and bring chaos.

"Shall we head on back now, Jessica?" asks Dominic as he switches back to the Pilot mode for the Gun Sniper. _Yeah, tomorrow is the big day with the big battle coming up,_ Jessica says with a soft voice. "Jessica, here is a helpful tip so you do not have to worry. Aim for the legs, if it does not have legs, it can not move, you shoot its weapon, it will be powerless. Let me deal with the larger problems, alright Jessica?" She was silent for a moment and then in a soft and a returning to normal tone, _Alright Dominic._ She smiles warmly as they head back towards the base.

As they brought the Gun Snipers back, Dominic jumps down, "Jessica, I am going to check on Schatten. I will meet up with you later." Jessica nods and heads over towards the mess hall, the urge of warm food drives her there. Dominic chuckles as he heads towards his Shadow Fox. When he sees Schatten, his eyes largely widen like a child in a toy store. The Buster Cannon rests upon the back of the Fox; the second component hangs under him. "Wow Schatten, you look amazing!" Schatten laughs and moves his head to face towards Dominic, ~And yet, it feels very heavy. Though it feels right, compared to the repeater from before.~

Schatten begins to laugh and Dominic joins in as well. "I promised you a run, but let me go get something to eat before hand, alright?" Dominic smiles and Schatten gives a nod; letting Dominic run back to the mess hall to grab some food and getting to make some small talk with the soldiers along with Jessica. As the soldiers start heading towards their barracks, Dominic goes over to Schatten and climbs up into the cockpit. "Ready, old friend?" The Fox lifts his head in a howl before it starts into a fast sprint across the plains near by.

Jessica sits on a hill, watching Dominic and Schatten running around, like a child playing with his pet. Commander Herman walks up behind Jessica, _Those two, they remind me of a story my Great Grandfather told, about a boy and his Zoid that fought against impossible odds and gave hope to those around him. I wonder if they are related to that boy from long ago,_ the old commander mused. A smile forms on Jessica's face, _I think they are, Commander, I think they are _A smile also forms on Herman's face as they watch Dominic and Schatten.

The morning after Schatten's run; Dominic slowly wakes up, rubbing his eyes gently. "Today is the big day, isn't?" Dominic gives a soft sigh as he slowly gets up. Standing before a mirror, rubbing against his chin, he feels the scruffiness against the palm of his hand. Splashes some cool water against his chin and then adds some shaving cream before he grabs an old-fashion razor and starts to shave the short whiskers away. Dominic splashes his face to clean off the excess cream and looks into the mirror. He stands there with only a pair of his worn jeans and a white undershirt.

Jessica pops her head into his tent, _Morning Dominic, ready for some breakfast?_ Dominic turns his head towards her and smiles and nods, "Starving." Jessica smiles and leaves with Dominic right behind; Dominic then grins and starts to race Jessica towards the Mess Hall, resulting in a tie. They both give a warm laugh as they enter into the mess hall, the smell of warm pancakes and maple syrup fills the air. They both take a very deep breath to take all the smell in.

Jessica and Dominic turn to each other and grin widely as they rush towards the cook and they get two of both pancakes and waffles drenched in syrup with a tall glass of cold milk. **Dig in you two; you are going to need it.** They give him a nod and head towards a table. "Do you remember what I told you what to do with your sniper partner at the beginning?" _Yes yes, take out the two small rocks that are holding the large land slides back to block the majority of the path,_ replies Jessica, feels like she is getting lectured by Dominic.

"And what is your plan if that they are able to move around the blockage?" Dominic asks, making sure Jessica knows what her instructions are before the fighting starts. _To take out either weaponry or legs, whichever is easier._ Jessica nods and smiles warmly. Dominic gently places a hand on her shoulder, "You will do fine, I know it. Now, let us eat!" They laugh and start to eat their breakfast.

After breakfast, Dominic goes back towards his tent and grabs a black t-shirt and slides it on. He notices this odd eye-patch device that was left on his cot, with a small note that is attached to it.

_/We have been keeping an eye on you, now here is a gift to give you a better one on the battlefield. From Alex/_ "Who is this 'Alex' person?" was what pops into Dominic's head. The eye-patch had three little scopes attached to it. He shrugs as he places it on over his head and onto his left eye. He notices something else on the ground but it was small; the scope on the eye-patch fixates on the small item and zooms up to get a better image.

It is another message and this one says, /_Hope you can read this, if you can, then the zoom on the scopes work, great for sniping and aiming for long range targets without a scope. Alex./_ All Dominic could do is grin at this piece of hardware, "Thanks, Alex" as the scope on the eye-patch readjust to normal settings. He puts his black bandana on his head and heads towards Schatten. "Are you ready, my dear old friend? This will be our first actual fight were we have some decent weaponry and we are not up against normal bandits that just want to steal from a little village. Will you still help me, Schatten?"

~Dominic, of course I will help you. You have done so much for me as well as the people around you. You have defended your home for no pay and you never asked for anything. You took Jessica with you because you wanted to give someone a chance where most little places do not. You gave her the courage of being able to fight for the first time, to defend herself along with others. She trusts you and cares for you like an older brother, someone she can look up to when she needs help and needs to talk to someone. You have given hope to these soldiers that they will easily defeat these raiders and outlaws. You have also given hope to these villagers that they will have a home to go to after today.~ All Dominic can do is smile softly and warmly as a single tear ran down his cheek, "Thank you Schatten-Engel, The Shadow Angel!"

Dominic climbs up the Fox's leg and into the cockpit and brings everything online. The Buster Cannon gives a soft hum as it warms up while Dominic does a quick look to see how many rounds he has for the cannon. "Only six huh? Well old buddy, we need to make sure these ones count." Schatten gives a nod and howls loudly as he walks towards the opening of the corridor.

As Dominic and Schatten walk towards the corridor, they notice that everyone that is fighting is there, even simple information officers are equipped with Anti-Zoid rifles. The front of the formation is left open for Schatten to walk into, which made Dominic have a small smirk form on his lips. The radio starts to crackle, _Dominic, can you hear me? It is Commander Herman._ "Commander? Shouldn't you be the one who is leading the troops and not me?" _If I was, then who is going to help Jessica with her assignment?_ This catches Dominic by surprise as he sees the two Gun Snipers already in position. He chuckles softly and replies, "You got a point there, and Herman, if this starts to turn for the worse, get Jessica out of here, please." There was a short silence before the commander spoke, _You have my word as a Commander._

"Thank you Sir. Also since you are up there, give us a recon of the Zoids that are coming into the battlefield." _No problem._ Commander Herman looks inside of the scope and spots six Red Horns leading the pack along with around twenty Saber Lions. He transfers the live visual feed to Dominic. "My, such stupid people. Alright, Commander Herman and Jessica, fire at the trigger rocks!" Two loud cracks from the two Gun Sniper's rifles go off and set off the two land slides that soon barricade the corridor. _That is a confirmed hit on both shots! Yay, it worked!_ A few cheers come from the soldiers on the ground, hoping that there will not be any fighting today. Sadly, they were mistaken.

The Red Horns charge through the debris, making a clear path for the Saber Lions that are following them. "Alright people, open fire!" Dominic shouts as he aims the Buster Cannon at the first Red Horn. The others shoot towards the large group, taking out a Saber Lion here and there. As soon as the screen says, 'Lock On,' Dominic pulls the trigger, and the first round goes flying and shoving the Fox back due to the recoil. The round from the cannon breaks a little off of the frontal armor of the first Red Horn and then fully pierces the body, shutting the zoid down completely. ~That is a confirmed shot Dominic.~ "Glad to hear it, Schatten, let's take the rest of them down."

Dominic brings the Fox back to where it was and reloads the cannon. When he locks on to the next target, Dominic lowers the barrel to aim and fire under the zoid. As he pulls the trigger again, the recoil sends him back once again. The round spirals as it lands right in front of the second Red Horn, making the zoid get thrown against the wall, the battle system freezes and the zoid shuts down. Jessica and Commander Herman are shooting at the Saber Lions, landing body shots and taking them out with single hits. Two of the Shield Ligers start to charge into the battlefield as they charge up their shields. They ram themselves into two Red Horns and knock them off their feet and are on their sides.

The Nitro Cannons that are attached to the Shield Ligers take aim at the bodies of the knocked over Zoids and fire, freezing the combat system. The Mega Missile Launcher on top of the Command Wolves launch into the air with a whistling sound trailing them. They drop like rain upon the Saber Lions, taking them out one by ones, falling like flies. Hell, even if they had so many Rev Raptors as back up, they would not be able to stand up to anything these Zoids are packing.

Schatten lets out a howl of wanting to join the fight, "You really want to fight up close Schatten?" ~I do Dominic, the recoil of this is annoying, but it is powerful. However, I want to run and have a little fun.~ Dominic grins and hits the ejection button to release the Buster Cannon off the Fox's back as well as the secondary component, letting it drop to the ground. Schatten lets out another howl of approval as he rushes into the fray of the fight.

Schatten and Dominic leap and bound onto the battlefield, activating the Thirty Millimeter Omni-Directional Vulcan Machine Gun, and begins to spray the legs of the Saber Lions, making them topple over due to such little armor on their legs. It is kind of funny for them, watching the Saber Lions trying to walk with only two working legs and they are both on the same side. The Gun Snipers take aim and start to shoot the legs out from under a Red Horn, making their systems freeze up.

There is now only one Red Horn Left which due to having received damage from an earlier shot from a Gun Sniper, the body armor is most likely have only a small amount remaining. Dominic smiles as he charges Schatten towards the Red Horn, the forward claws on the Fox's feet begin to glow a bright gold color as the Fox leaps into the air. On its way down, Dominic yells, "Strike Laser Claw!" and slashes through the last bit of the armor. The last Red Horn collapses onto its side; the pilots of the defeated Zoids start to run off, hoping to make an escape, were blocked off by the Shadow Fox. A warm chuckle comes from both the pilot and the Fox as the cockpit opens. "You can see what people can do when their homes are on the line. Now, it is time for you to enjoy a long vacation…in jail!"

As the Dominic, Jessica, Commander Herman the Fourth and the rest of the soldier's return, the villagers came out to praise the brave warriors. Dominic smiles as well as Jessica and Herman watch the other soldier get surrounded by the crowd that starts to form around them. The three of them silently jump out of their Zoids and head over towards the mess hall to grab something to eat and drink. When Dominic looks at the clock hanging on a nail near the wall, he notices that the battle was over in little less than two hours. He smiles softly, happy that no one was hurt and that Jessica did extremely well for her first fight.

He slowly turns to Jessica and says in a happy and warm voice, "Great job out there, you did very wonderfully, Jessica." Jessica goes over to him and hugs him close to her, _Thank you for believing in me._ Dominic smiles warmly as he hugs her back, "I did say I knew you can do it." Dominic then feels a pat on his shoulder and turns to see Herman smiling at him, _Great Job Dominic. I have two gifts for you._ "Oh? And what are they Commander Herman?" _The first one is that you are now a register zoid pilot with the ZBC and second, please take a zoid as my payment for both of your services._

Dominic's eyes go wide, "Are you serious Sir?" Herman just smiles and nods towards him. "Thank you very much Sir, and as for the Zoid, can I have that Gun Sniper Jessica was using?" Done. Jessica's eyes go wide this time as she hugs Dominic even harder, _Thank you very much for the zoid!_ He chuckles and smiles, "My pleasure. Now, I need to lay down, I am tired. I will see you two later. Also, Commander Herman, could you ask someone place the Gun Sniper onto the Gustav's platform." Herman gives a small nod as Dominic goes back to his tent.

When he goes inside, he notices a gun case resting on his cot with another note attached to it. He stands there as the eye-patch zooms in and adjusts to read the note. This one said _/Hello there once again, after seeing your battle that just finished, we are definite in our decision. We want you to join Team Sniper. Meet me at this coordinates. Alex/_ followed by a series of numbers. When Dominic goes over to open the gun case, he eyes a large, fifty caliber rifle inside the container. "My, this may be worse than an Anti-Zoid rifle." He chuckles as he places it away and then looks at the coordinates, "I think this is near a mountain range or something with a steep slope. Thank god for the feet anchors built into the feet of Schatten." He chuckles as he readjusts the eye-patch on his face before heading out towards Schatten.

When he gets over there, he climbs into the cockpit and packs the rifle away before he punches the coordinates into the map system in the main computer. "I was right, it is a plateau with a very steep slope." ~Dominic, why are we going here?~ asks the Fox to its' pilot. "Why is because I do believe we were accepted into a team of zoid pilots. Can you believe it? People we can always call comrade and someone we can call on if we need help. Plus, it is a place to call home other than the village." Schatten nods his head slowly, ~And what about Jessica?~

"We are going to bring her home, not as a bar maid, but as a pilot. Someone who can defend her home." Dominic starts to smile, "She reminds me of us when we first went out. Hopefully things will be brighter for her than it was for us." ~I understand Dominic. Are we leaving soon?~ "Yeah we are. That means, more naps for you until we get back to Zoid Heaven." A loud laugh comes from Schatten, Good, that battle worn me out. If I did not have that run the night before, I may have stiffened up at the battle. "Good thing you didn't, old friend," Dominic smiles as he pats the console before he jumps out and goes towards the Gustav's cabin.

He stops to see the Gun Sniper being placed upon the transport in front of the Fox. When he reaches the cabin of the Gustav, he sees Jessica at the controls. He chuckles softly, "You need to rest Jessica, go on into the back and take a nap." Jessica smiles softly and nods, _Alright, and I do feel tired,_ she says as she crawls into the back and passes out as soon as she lies out. Commander Harman the Fourth visits the small traveling group and gives a salute to Dominic, along with every soldier in sight.

_You have done something for free which most would not have done even if paid. Thank you for your services._ Dominic smiles and returns the salute, "Thank you for letting me fight along with Jessica and thank you for the Gun Sniper and acceptance into the ZBC. Give me a call if you want my services again." Herman gives a nod and a smile, _Good luck, my friend._ Dominic returns the nod as the hatch of the Gustav comes to a close. The soldiers make a path towards the same way they came through and open the same gate, letting the small group leave and head back towards Zoid Heaven.

After a long drive across the desert towards back towards Jessica's home at Zoid Heaven, they reach stop at the outskirts, Jessica stirring from the back seat. _Dominic, where are we? _"You are back home now Jessica," Dominic replies with a soft smile on his lips. _Why did you bring us back here? _asks Jessica, waking up more. "To make you the guardian of your home, Jessica." Jessica is silent for a little bit, _Is this good bye for forever?_ This made Dominic laugh, "Hell no it isn't, I have to do some errands that neither a Gun Sniper nor a Gustav can reach." This makes Jessica pout a little but she still smiles.

_Thank you, and I bet father won't believe that I was part of an actual battle._ This makes them both laugh warmly as they park in front of the watering hole. "Jessica, I am leaving both the Gustav and the Gun Sniper in your possession. Use them to protect your home from people who desire destruction and violence." She nods as she hugs him close to her, _Thank you for everything you have done for me over these past few day. I am going to tell father when I get inside. Thank you Dominic, keep in touch?_ "You know it," he chuckles and smiles as they hug each other one last time before she opens the hatch of the Gustav and runs inside, yelling _Daddy!_ like a little girl.

Dominic smiles as he closes the hatch again and parks the Gustav along with the Gun Sniper next to Jessica's home. When he gets out, he smiles as he looks at the building one last time before he climbs into the cockpit of Schatten and slowly takes off towards the coordinates he punched in earlier.

After a couple hours of constant running, Schatten and Dominic reach a cliff edge that the two have to cross and run up the plateau's steep slope. The radio chirps to life and a voice comes from it, /_Glad to see you finally made it, Dominic and Schatten. Meet me up top of the plateau that stands before you./ _was all it said before it goes silent again. "Well then, old friend. It seems we have an appointment to meet this 'Alex' person. Let's not try to be late, shall we?" Dominic asks in bit of an excited voice. ~Indeed, let's go!~ was that was said before the two begin to run at full speed and they take a leap of faith to reach the other side. As the front two paws connect with the plateau's steep slope, the feet anchors lock the feet to the slope.

"Whew, thank god that worked," Dominic says with a sigh of relief. ~What? You do not trust my abilities?~ The two of them laugh as they walk up the side of the plateau. When they reach the top, Dominic jumps out of the cockpit and slowly walks up towards the lone man standing next to a Gun Sniper. "Are you Alex?"

The man gives a warm chuckle before he looks up to see Dominic's eyes, _/What do you think, Dominic?/ _"Well then, I must thank you for those little gifts of yours," Dominic smiles, "One does not usually get nice tech and high power weaponry everyday now, do they?" Dominic gives a warm chuckle. _/I do believe that you are right, Dominic./ _He joins in with Dominic's chuckling.

"Now I am guessing you want me to join your ranks, am I right, Alex?" Alex gives a nod in reply, _/Will you take the offer?/_ he asks as he holds his hands out for a hand shake. Dominic grins, "I think I will, Captain," as he clasps Alex's forearm with his hand, and Alex clasping Dominic's forearm with his hand.


End file.
